Genesis Ch12v1-Ch13v4 - Beginning With Grace

So, on the table as you came in, there's a little booklet which says Genesis 12 to 50.

You will remember that a year or so ago we did Genesis chapter 1 to 11.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

So, if you want to know what Genesis 1 to 11 is all about, you can go to our website and listen to all the talks there.

But we're going to be picking up the accounts, the story from chapter 12 through to the end of chapter 50.

And this little booklet is a little overview of some of the main characters, some of the main points that we're going to be hitting along the way.

And I encourage you to read it just to give you an overview and it will help you in our studies.

But, of course, not to be reading it now. We're going to read the Bible, which is a sure and trustworthy word.

Let's read Genesis chapter 12, starting at verse 1.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

The Lord had said to Abram,

Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.

I will make you a great nation and I will bless you.

I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.

And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

So Abram went as the Lord had told him.

And Lot went with him.

Abram was 75 years old when he set out from Haran.

He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran.

And they set out for the land of Canaan.

And they arrived there.

Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Morah at Shechem.

At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

The Lord appeared to Abram and said,

To your offspring I will give this land.

So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.

From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel

and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east.

There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.

Then Abram set out and continued towards the Negev.

Now there was a famine in the land and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.

As he was about to enter Egypt he said to his wife Sarai,

I know what a beautiful woman are you.

When the Egyptians see you they will say,

This is his wife.

Then they will kill me but will let you live.

Say you are my sister so that I will be treated well for your sake

and my life will be spared because of you.

When Abram came to Egypt,

the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.

And when Pharaoh's officials saw her,

they praised her to Pharaoh and she was taken into his palace.

He treated Abram well for her sake and Abram acquired sheep and cattle,

male and female donkeys and male and female servants and camels.

But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai.

So Pharaoh summoned Abram.

What have you done to me?

He said.

Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

Why did you say she is my sister?

So that I took her to be my wife.

Now then, here is your wife.

Take her and go.

Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men

and they sent him on his way

with his wife and everything he had.

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev

with his wife and everything he had

and Lot went with him.

Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

From the Negev he went from place to place

until he came to Bethel

to the place between Bethel and Ai

where his tent had been earlier

and where he had first built an altar.

There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help.

Father God, thank you for this very ancient record

and account of a man called Abram

and his wife Sarai.

Names may be familiar to us.

Some of the accounts may be.

But Father, we don't just want this to be

some historical record of the past.

We trust that it is a living word

speaking to us today

about our lives

and the God we seek to follow.

So Father, would you be gracious to us

so that we might learn much together.

that we might discover more

of your greatness

your grace

and your love towards your people.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, the other day

panic struck our house.

The internet went down.

No wifi.

Well, in our modern homes

and us being enslaved to wifi

mobiles don't work.

The landline, because it's connected now

to the internet, doesn't work.

The TV and Netflix are out.

The heating system goes down.

It's a nightmare.

There.

But thankfully, as some of you will know

on the back of the modem

is a tiny little button

that says

reset.

All you need to do

is just press that button in

and hold it for 10 seconds

and then release.

And incredibly,

an orange light

you know what it's like, don't you?

Because you've done it all before.

It begins to flash

and then it turns green

and then another light

begins to flash

and it turns green

and soon you've got

four bright green lights.

the internet has returned.

Peace resumes.

Now don't you wish

you had a reset button

for your life?

You see, we get ourselves

into such a pickle, don't we?

Through our choices and decisions.

When we play and act

as if we are God

we make a mess of our lives

and everybody else around us

and we long that we could just

press reset

and start

all over again.

What is it that you want to

restart?

Maybe you're wanting to

restart your marriage.

Maybe you're wanting to

restart how you've

parented your children.

Maybe you want to

restart with

a relationship

with somebody here

this morning.

Perhaps you want to

restart

your relationship

with the Lord.

Maybe

you're just thinking

I wish I could just

restart my

whole life.

Don't you wish

you could just

press that button

and everything

be put back again?

Well, Genesis 12

is the restart

that we all

long for.

It's the button

that we all

want to be able

to press.

The story of the

Bible so far

from 1 to 11

well it began

so well

everything was good

and beautiful.

Adam and Eve

the first man

and woman

placed in a garden

of delight

enjoying life

and enjoying God

they were

blessed

but they

rebelled.

They sought

to take God's

place and live

as if they

were the boss

and the fall

out of this

rebellion

against God

was God's

cosmic

curse

which resulted

in division

between people

conflict with

creation

and separation

from the loving

God who had

made them

and despite

all of

humanity's

attempts to

reconnect

and solve

everything

and put

everything

back together

again

it just

descended

into chaos

down and

down in

further

carnage.

You see

broken people

like us

can never

fix the

broken world

we live in

and broken

people like us

can't fix

our own

broken lives.

Well in

Genesis 12

we have the

restart

that we all

need and it

begins with

a man called

Abraham.

Later on

he'll become

called

Abraham.

Three things

we want to

learn from

what we read

this morning.

Very simply

new beginnings

old problem

God's grace.

grace.

Okay?

New beginnings

old problem

God's grace.

So first

the new

beginnings.

New beginnings

always start

with God's

word.

That's why we

look at his

word every

Sunday.

Verse 1

The Lord

had said to

Abraham

go.

Go.

Remember

back to

Genesis 1

Genesis 1:1

verse 1

In the

beginning

God

and God

said

and it

was so

God

spoke

the beginning

of the

world

into existence

with his

voice

and now

through his

voice

God speaks

again to

a man called

Abraham.

He speaks

a word

that is going

to bring about

a new

beginning

a new

creation.

And at

the heart

of this

word

was a

promise

to bless.

A word

of blessing.

Look at

verse 2

God said

to him

I will

make you

into a

great nation

and I

will bless

you.

I will

make your

name great

and you

will be

a blessing.

blessing.

Well

who's he

going to

be a

blessing

to?

Well

look at

the end

of verse

3

and all

peoples

on earth

will be

blessed

through you.

God

spoke a

promise

to bless

Abraham

who in

turn

would be

a blessing

to all

the nations

and all

peoples

of the

world.

Now

this promise

of blessing

is certainly

not new.

it's an

outworking

of a

promise

that God

had made

right at

the very

beginning.

Go back

with me

to chapter

3

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

there it

records

for us

how man

had rebelled

and God's

curse

on the

world

God's

curse

on humanity

and in

the middle

of the

curse

God

makes a

promise

that is

going to

shape

history

and the

entire

world

from this

point

onwards.

Chapter

3

verse

15

God

is

speaking

to

Satan

the

one

who

has

brought

disruption

and

disorder

and God

says I

will put

enmity

between

you

Satan

and the

woman

and between

your

offspring

and

hers

he

will

crush

your

head

and

you

will

strike

his

heel

a

son

is

promised

to bring

blessing

instead

of

curse

look what he

says to

Satan at

the end

of verse

15

he

will

crush

your

head

he

that is

a seed

from the

woman

a son

is going

to come

who will

inflict

a blow

that will

ultimately

crush

Satan's

head

so that

the curse

will be

broken

and so

that

blessing

could

flow

to the

world

now back

to chapter

12

so into

the

mess

and the

brokenness

of humanity

God

once again

intervenes

and speaks

a word

of blessing

to

the son

of a

woman

his name

is

Abraham

a word

that is

going to

bring about

this

new

beginning

that I

will

bless

you

and

all

peoples

on earth

will be

blessed

through

you

it's

like

God

has hit

the

restart

button

Abraham

is the

means

of bringing

this

blessing

from

God

to the

world

it's

as if

that

flashing

light

has

turned

green

and

everything

is being

reset

so it's

a word

of blessing

but it is

also

a word

to

obey

a word

to obey

he may

speak a word

of blessing

but

Abraham

must do

what God

says

verse 1

again

the Lord

had said

to Abraham

go from

your country

your people

and your

father's

household

to the

land

I will

show

you

verse 4

so

Abraham

went

as the

Lord

had told

him

verse 5

he took

with his

wife

Sarai

his nephew

Lot

all the

possessions

they had

accumulated

and all the

people they

had acquired

in Haran

and they

set out

for the

land of

Canaan

and they

arrived

there

Abraham

it seems

is a

new

kind

of

Adam

a

different

one

he

does

what

he's

told

he's

an

obedient

son

God

said

and he

did

it

it all

seems

rather

simple

doesn't

it

obey

God

and

you

will

be

blessed

that's

it

that's

all

we

need

to

do

God

reminded

him

of his

commitment

verse 7

the

Lord

appeared

to

Abram

and said

to your

offspring

I

give

you

this

land

so

Abram

built

an

altar

there

to

the

Lord

who

had

appeared

to

him

everything

was

looking

good

in fact

in some

ways

isn't it

very

similar

to the

garden

of Eden

man

and

woman

Abram

and his

wife

Sarai

living

in

God's

place

enjoying

his

blessing

and

living

for

God's

glory

it's

like

another

green

light

has

come

on

the

reset

button

is

doing

its

job

now

if we're

to know

this

new

beginning

and this

fresh

start

that we

all

long

for

it

means

taking

God

at his

word

doesn't

it

that

we

too

like

Abraham

would

obey

what

God

says

now

admittedly

as we

read

through

scripture

sometimes

we find

what

God

says

hard

and

difficult

sometimes

we might

think

no I

know

a better

way

or

I'm

not

quite

sure

this

is

for

me

sometimes

it

doesn't

make

quite

much

sense

but

we

must

always

obey

what

God

says

as

the

author

to

the

Hebrews

reminds

us

you

can

follow

it

on

your

screen

by

faith

Abraham

when

called

to

go

to

a

place

he

would

later

receive

as

his

inheritance

obeyed

and

went

even

though

he

did

not

know

where

he

was

going

sometimes

we

don't

quite

understand

God's

ways

but

we

always

obey

because

as we

obey

we

experience

God's

blessing

in our

life

we

experience

the new

beginning

that we

long

for

very

simple

isn't

it

just

obey

God's

word

but

with

this

new

beginning

comes

a

very

old

problem

Abram

it seems

is very

settled

in his

new

home

the

reset

button

is

beginning

to

take

shape

things

are

looking

up

all

seems

to be

well

until

his

faith

comes

under

testing

look

at

verse

10

a

test

of

faith

verse

10

now

there

was

a

famine

in

the

land

and

Abram

went

down

to

Egypt

to

live

there

for

a

while

because

the

famine

was

severe

now

we

might

applaud

Abram

might

we

for

taking

his

family

to

safety

I

mean

they've

got

nothing

to

eat

it

seems

to be

the

right

thing

to

do

but

is

it

leaving

the

land

that

has

been

promised

to

you

a

land

where

you

will

be

blessed

well

it

just

might

be

the

best

decision

I

mean

who

knows

if

he

had

stayed

perhaps

God

would

have

provided

for

him

why

not

we're

not

really

quite

sure

the

text

doesn't

give

us

all

the

answers

but

whatever

the

rights

or

wrongs

of his

move

down

to

Egypt

what

happened

next

was

going

to be

a

real

test

of

faith

you

see

there

was

a

problem

it

was

a

kind

of

good

problem

but

it

had

consequences

his

wife

was

very

beautiful

and that

meant a

threat

to his

own

life

not only

was it

going to

be a

threat

to his

life

but it

meant a

threat

to all

of

God's

promises

remember

what God

had said

back at

verse 2

I'm

going to

make

you

Abraham

into

a

great

nation

and I'm

going to

make

your

name

great

and I'm

going to

bless

all the

peoples

of the

world

through

you

so

if

something

happens

to

Abraham

the

promise

of

blessing

goes

out

the

window

if

Abraham

gets

the

chop

the

blessings

are

done

so

Abraham

comes

up

with

a

plan

doesn't

he

verse

12

when

the

Egyptians

see

you

they

will

say

this

is

his

wife

then

they

will

kill

me

but

will

let

you

live

so

here's

the

plan

say

I

say

you're

my

sister

so

that

I

will

be

treated

well

for

your

sake

and

my

life

will

be

spared

because

of

you

what

a

clever

idea

it

seems

rather

smart

doesn't

it

given

the

circumstances

because

what

he

feared

actually

came

to

pass

news

got

round

to

Pharaoh

that

there's

a

beautiful

woman

in

town

and

Pharaoh

just

might

like

her

and

so

Sarai

was

taken

as

Pharaoh's

wife

and

Abraham

the

pretend

brother

was

spared

in

Abram's

eyes

the promise

of blessing

was kept

alive

because

if anything

had happened

to him

well the

blessing

would be

gone

what else

was he

to do

but

when

was

lying

an

okay

thing

to

do

since

when

has

it

been

right

to

push

your

wife

into

the

arms

of

another

to

save

your

own

bacon

no

Abram

wasn't

smart

at

all

this

isn't

faith

this

is

fear

this

isn't

undeniable

love

for his

wife

Sarai

this

was

love

for

self

perhaps

what he

should

have

done

was

to

take

a step

back

and

lead

his

wife

in

prayer

Sarai

let's

pray

dear

God

you

are

the

one

and

only

true

God

you've

made

a

promise

that

all

nations

will

be

blessed

through

our

family

so as

you

keep

your

promises

to

us

help

us

to

be

faithful

and

trust

you

whatever

the

threat

amen

now

before we

start

joining

in the

jeers

and the

booing

of

Abram

let me

speak

to the

husbands

and to

the men

including

myself

don't

think

we're

much

better

isn't

it all

too

common

a

trait

that

we're

quite

happy

to

sacrifice

our

wives

for

our

own

sake

for

our

own

comfort

and

our

own

pleasures

to do

our

own

thing

how many

of us

as

husbands

live up

to

the

calling

husbands

love

your

wives

as

Christ

loved

the

church

and

gave

himself

for

her

we

are

to

love

our

wives

and

to

lead

them

well

because

God

calls

us

to

obey

it

you

see

for

Abram

once

there

was

a

test

of

faith

it

exposed

his

heart

of

failure

Abram's

lack

of

faith

and

disobedience

had

terrible

consequences

look at

verse 17

the

Lord

inflicted

serious

diseases

on

Pharaoh

and his

household

because

of

Abram's

wife

Sarai

yes

Pharaoh

was at

fault

one

is

enough

for being

a wife

you don't

need

more

but

the

account

makes

it

very

clear

that

Abram

was

not

an

innocent

party

verse

18

so

Pharaoh

summoned

Abram

what

have

you

done

to

me

he

said

why

didn't

you

tell

me

she

was

your

wife

why

did

you

say

she

is

my

sister

so

that

I

took

her

to

be

my

wife

why

did

you

lead

me

astray

why

did

you

tell

me

all

these

lies

now

then

here

is

your

wife

take

her

and

go

you

see

instead

of

bringing

blessing

to

the

nations

Abram

was

bringing

curses

to

the

nations

this

is

not

reminiscent

of an

earlier

account

in

Genesis

where

God

has

spoken

to

another

man

Adam

I

will

give

you

all

that

you

need

everything

that

you

need

I'm

going

to

bless

you

but

you

must

not

eat

from

the

fruit

of

the

tree

of

the

knowledge

of

good

and

evil

trust

me

I

know

what

I'm

doing

I

made

the

world

I

made

you

well

Adam

stood

back

didn't

he

he

knew

better

he

knew

what

was

best

for

himself

and

his

wife

he

didn't

take

responsibility

he

failed

so

it

turns

out

that

Adam

the

son

of

a

woman

the

Adam

was

not

so

much

good

after

all

and

neither

was

Abraham

the

son

of

the

woman

is

just

another

failure

instead

of bringing

blessing to

the nations

through his

obedience

he has

brought

curses to

the nations

through his

disobedience

it's like

the green

lights have

gone red

again

everything

is flashing

and warning

we need

an

altogether

different

kind

of

reset

if we

are going

to enjoy

and know

a longer

new

beginning

so new

beginnings

old

problems

and

God's

grace

you see

new beginnings

have been a

common theme

through

Genesis

you might

remember

God

started

with

Adam

but it

ended

in a

curse

God

started

again

with

Seth

but it

ended

with

a

flood

upon

the

whole

world

and

God

started

again

with

Noah

and

it

ended

with

them

building

a

tower

and

God

scattering

all

the

people

now

it

starts

with

Abram

and

it

ends

with

well

not as

we

expect

look at

chapter

13

verse 1

so

Abram

went up

from

Egypt

to

the

Neget

with

his

wife

and

everything

he

had

and

Lot

went

with

him

Abram

had

become

very

wealthy

in

livestock

and

in

silver

and

in

gold

God

has

continued

to

bless

this

failing

falling

man

it

seems

God

is not

about

to give

up

surprisingly

and

shockingly

God

does

what

we

don't

expect

him

to

do

he

responds

in